Church Snooty About Too Much Booty…What!?

I love Steve Brown and his crew over at stevebrownetc.com.

One of my favorite blogs to date is this one, posted this past July, about a churches response to a billboard displaying naked human “bottoms” displayed on the same building where they meet to worship. The best part of this blog, however are the comments concerning how the church should have turned the situation into a great opportunity.

Enjoy!

Pastor Neil Rhodes in New York does not like big butts (no, this doesn’t have anything to do with Sir Mix-a-Lot).

On July 1st, bathroom fixture manufacturer Toto planned to begin advertising their Washlet bidet-toilet seat via billboards on two sides of the building at 51st Street and Broadway. The ads feature bare butts with smiley faces on them (see pic).

The problem however is that this building houses the Times Square Church where Pastor Rhodes ministers. He complained about the booty billboards, and on Monday a judge ordered a temporary restraining order keeping them from going up. What’s more, the Times Square Church had to post a $90,000 bond that will be paid to Toto for damages if it’s found that the church is not entitled to an injunction.

Read the Rest at http://stevebrownetc.com/2007/07/podcasts/ping/bare-buttocks-bidet-billboards-barred-bove-broadway-basilica/

Two Years After Katrina: Where Has the “Road Home” Taken Us?

The Following is an article by Brian Gilmore posted on the Ebony Jet website. It gives us an interesting perspective on the Katrina aftermath, now two years later. I haven’t posted my own opinion on this discussion as of yet, but the biggest lesson I believe that is to be learned from the entire calamity, is that when the government is totally depended upon by people to be their savior in every situation, it makes for nothing but disasters like the one we have now in New Orleans. I am certain that the debate over what to do in this once grand city will continue and will occupy those of who care for years to come.

The following is the Gillmore Article:

Back in the late spring when the Democrats and Republicans in Congress played political volleyball with continued war funding in Iraq, government support for hurricane relief in New Orleans briefly became collateral damage in that nasty political struggle. Some Democrats back then thought it was clever to attach a rider to the Iraq funding bill that provided the additional funding for the hurricane relief and protection in New Orleans. President Bush didn’t blink. He vowed to veto any bill that didn’t conform to his war demands no matter what was attached to it. In the end, the Democrats dared President Bush, the promised veto came, and recovery in New Orleans got delayed a bit.That late spring congressional battle is just one example of how a now famous New Orleans’ recovery program called “The Road Home” has not been able (at least not yet) to deliver the goods to the people as hoped. Slow to pay out recovery dollars, “The Road Home” many believe needs its own road home if New Orleans is to get back to a normalcy.

Here’s the link to the article: http://ebonyjet.com/politics/index.aspx?id=1483

More About Michael Vick…

Well, we’ve all been overexposed (thanks to the national media) to the Michael Vick story and the different forms of spin which have ensued following it. I thought I’d post a perspective that actually makes the most sense to me, and probably to others who have common sense. Read and Enjoy.

irst of all, it concerns me when a case like this dominates the headlines; it makes me wonder what important news we are actually missing. For instance, our national tabloid media covered the fund raising of the 2008 presidential candidates, highlighting that Obama pulled in 30 million dollars in one quarter, but there was no coverage informing the public from whence that money came and therefore exposing the public to whom Obama would be beholden if elected president. So every minute we log watching the fabulous life of Michael Vick (go up in flames?) something is being missed that REALLY matters! Second, it is clear now that the American media is motivated by avarice for high ratings rather than by the public service of keeping the people informed with news that matters; our nefarious media preys on a credulous public! The irresponsibility of our media insidiously weakens our judicial system, particularly the notion that American citizens are innocent until proven guilty! Does anyone remember Duke? Does anyone remember Kobe? Does anyone remember Ray Lewis? FOR GOD SAKE, does anyone remember Dan Rather? It does not matter whether Michael Vick has pleaded guilty or whether someone settles out of court, the media’s reckless coverage indoctrinates the public with regimented ideas that subvert due process and denies the accused of the possibility of an uncontaminated jury pool! For this reason many accused parties accept plea bargains and settlements regardless of actual innocence. We seriously need to have a public debate about producing legislation to restrict media coverage of legal cases; the very integrity of our legal system is at stake! While one may not view pre-trial media super coverage as jury tampering, one must at least admit that the jury pool is drastically reduced and having already heard arguments about the case, drastically polluted.

If you want to read more, and I can’t image why you wouldn’t, then follow this link: http://www.reformedblacksofamerica.org/blog1/index.php?itemid=243